Tag: discussion

The Movie Club returns! Sean and Jay from Filmjunk join Andrew & Kurt from Rowthree (Marina sadly was a victim of the Vancouver Transit System, and Omar was off crimefighting or some-such-superhero activity.) Episode #14 tackles two film involving serial killers and the media, first up with Oliver Stone’s 1994 arthouse-exploitation fusion Natural Born Killers, followed up by Andrew Dominick’s launching of Eric Bana as an A-List star internationally via Australia’s strangest and most public killer, Chopper.

One of our most convivial shows, don’t let the lack of disagreement amongst the converstation deter you, it allows for more time to get into the nitty gritty and the personal tangents around the films.

Enjoy.

Comments are turned off on this post, so go over to THE MOVIE CLUB PODCAST site and listen or comment there. The upcoming Episode #15 will feature discussion on Spielberg’s A.I. and Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness. We leave it up to you to figure out the thematic connection between the two. Get watching, and vote in the poll on the sidebar for possible films in Episode #16.

Around these parts, we love great film and I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I’m always on the lookout for the next best thing in Canadian film. The First Weekend Club is dedicated to sharing the best Canada has to offer and though some of the selections may not always make it to theatres across the border or around the world, there is always the DVD release. Enter the DVD Club.

Every month the First Weekend Club announces a DVD selection along with a special guest – someone involved with the film who will participate and interact with fans in the forum. We here at Row Three also love a great discussion and what could be better than chatting up a storm with the star, director or producer of that film you just watched? Yeah, I thought that might get you a bit excited.

This month’s selection is Sarah Polley’s Away from Her staring Gordon Pinsent, Stacey LaBerge and Julie Christie. For those who haven’t seen it, now would be the time to check out Polley’s fantastic feature directorial debut while those of us who have seen it may want to re-visit the film to part take in some discussion with this month’s guests Gordon Pinsent and Kristen Thomson.

It’s common for individuals involved with films to enter the media circus once their film is about to or has been released and though Charlie Kaufman has been in the film business for years, I’ve never heard the man speak of the films he’s been involved with.

Last week, David Poland shared an interview which, from what I gather from the comments on post, he conducted with Mr. Kaufman. I’m not familiar with Kaufman “the man” though I have seen a number of the films he has written and though Synecdoche, New York (our review) managed to make multiple appearances on our end of year lists, it’s not a film I cared for and one that confused me to the point where I simply didn’t even care to untangle. Yet, hearing Kaufman speak I can’t but reconsider my reaction and I’ve been convinced to give the film a second chance when it eventually comes to DVD.

It’s a great interview, which doesn’t start off particularly well the opening fits my limited idea of what to expect from Kaufman.

Good interviews are few and far between and interviews in which directors talk candidly about filmmaking are even harder to find but I stumbled onto something this morning which I can’t believe I’ve missed.

I’m a pretty big fan of the Fox Searchlight webpage. The distributor has put a whole lot of money and effort into bringing potential viewers to their site but beyond that, they’re always providing great “value added” content that makes them stand out. They’re not alone in their efforts, other distributors have similar operations, and their particular system isn’t perfect but they’re certainly putting a great deal of thought and care into it. One other way FSL is going above and beyond is by providing services that have little to do with the films they’re producing/distributing but which ingratiate the FSL name to fans. Searchlab seems to be one such project.

Using the Social Media lingo, Searchlab is an online community for “filmmakers on the rise and movie enthusiasts of all stripes.” I stumbled on the project today when I noticed that FSL had updated their YouTube channel with a two parts of a three part interview/lecture with director Ridley Scott. Looking around, I found that the Searchlab website actually has all three parts of the interview, along with talks with Bryan Singer, Richard Linklater and Frank Darabont among many others.

I’ve only seen the first part of the Scott talk and so far, I can say it’s well worth the listen for film fans and individuals interested in making films not to mention, fans of the director. I’m willing to bet that the other interview/lectures are just as good. And don’t worry if you don’t want to sign up – you can view (and embed! Bonus Points!) all of the videos, including shorts by members of the community, without creating an account.

Also, for the upcoming episode #10, which will likely have Jay Cheel and Omar Hauksson returning, we will be looking at Michael Mann‘s whistle blowing drama The Insider, and the science fiction conspiracy-driven Charlton Heston vehicle, Soylent Green. Be sure to vote at the site for Episode #11’s films in the poll at the sidebar. (Note comments are closed on this post, please post comments and discussion over at The Movie Club Podcast website).

V2 Cinema, a Brazilian company devoted to creating low budget material for distribution on the internet, DVD, TV and in cinemas, have launched an online series they’ve dubbed “Think Tank”. The shorts are visual essays featuring personalities from around the world with a new episode airing monthly until December.

The group has posted the first of the six essays and it is an excellent discussion between Brazilian filmmakers José Padilha and Beto Brant. The two film makers begin by speaking about piracy and its effects on their films, the “business”, how they approach film making, what film making is for them and how their surroundings (life) play into the films they make. It’s an excellent, candid conversation well worth watching.

Aside from it being engrossing, it’s put together quite nicely by director Márcio Schoenardie.

You can check out the first short, titled Levels, at the Think Tank website. You may want to bookmark the site so as not to miss the upcoming episodes!